Strongest Mamodo
by Swimmer Zero
Summary: Megumi, Sherry, and Suzy get kidnapped. Kiyo and Eido must save them... without the help of their mamodo. On the other hand, Zatch and the others find out that eight mamodo sent back have come back to Earth.
1. Prologue: Zatch vs Brago

**Hi! This is my first fanfic, so please... no flames. I use that for steaks and hot dogs. I hope you like it.

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Disclaimer: I don't own Zatch Bell. However, if I did:

Kiyo and Megumi would be close to marriage, Zatch would have trouble deciding over marrying Kolulu or Tia, Kolulu and Tia would fight a lot over Zatch, Hyde would fight with Zatch over Tia, Brago and Sherry wouldn't be so quiet, and Zeno wouldn't be so cold (just a little less).

Oh well. Enjoy the story!

A/N: Story Key- "Talking" _'Thought'_ **Spell** **_Place

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_**Megumi's mansion**_

At about five o'clock in the afternoon in a mansion in Tokyo, a pop star and her friend were having a little party. To tell you the truth, little was sort of an understatement.

BOOM! An explosion came from somewhere down the hall of the mansion.

"Megumi, are they still fighting?" The pop idol's friend said.

"Why wouldn't they be, Tia?" the girl Megumi replied. They went down the hallway to the arena where a blond-haired boy and a black-haired boy were having somewhat of a practice battle. Practice wasn't exactly the word, though.

"Give up, Kiyo?" A blond haired girl asked, heavily panting.

"Not to you, Sherry," Kiyo replied, also panting, but not as much.

"Are you four do-" Megumi couldn't finish her sentence over Kiyo's spell.

"**Zaker**!" The blond boy, Zatch, shot a lightning blast from his mouth. The blackette, Brago, put his right hand in front of him. Sherry yelled out, "**Reis**!" Brago shot a ball of dark energy toward Zatch's lightning blast. When Megumi and Tia looked, they found themselves right in the middle of Zatch and Brago's attacks. Megumi frantically got out her spell book and cast Tia's first spell.

"**Seoshi**!" Tia put up a barrier around Megumi and herself, right as both attacks came in contact with the barrier, stopping the attacks.

"What the hell are you two doing, trying to kill us?" Tia yelled with an anime vein on her head.

"Oh, hi Tia!" Zatch simply replied with no clue at all that she got in the middle of his battle with Brago.

"What do you mean 'Hi'!" Tia exclaimed as she was wringing Zatch's neck again for the third time that day.

"Sorry about that, Megumi," Kiyo said.

"It's okay," Megumi replied.

"**Jikir**!" Out of nowhere, a blast of wind shot toward Zatch. Kiyo just sighed and read another spell.

"**Rashield**!" A shield came from the ground and shot the wind back with an electric shock to where it came from... the ceiling, where two guys were gliding in the air, and dodged the electric wind. One of them was a redhead with green eyes and an H on his shirt. The other guy was also a redhead and was on a skateboard holding a light teal colored book.

"Dammit, Eido, will you give up? You two can't beat us!" Kiyo yelled.

"Well, as they say, 'try, try again',"Eido replied as he and his mamodo, Hyde, landed. The thing is, Eido doesn't know when to quit, and winds up getting his ass kicked every trip of the train, and not just by Zatch and Kiyo.

"Oooookay, now that this is out of the way, let's have a little fun," Tia chimed in after several seconds.

"Yeaaaahhhhh, let's go!" Zatch exclaimed.

"Ten bucks says she kisses him on the lips before we crash," Hyde said to Brago.

"You're on," Brago smirked as he shook Hyde's hand.

As they all walked out of the arena to Megumi's room, Suzy (yes, Suzy) rung the doorbell. Kiyo answered the door and let her in. He then heard a horse sound behind Suzy go, "Meru meru me"

"Ponygon, what the hell are you doing here!" Kiyo yelled.

"It's okay, Kiyo," Suzy replied. "I saw him walking when I was coming here, so I brought him along." Zatch happened to be next to Kiyo when Suzy was talking to him and spotted Naomi right in the doorway when Ponygon came in, an evil grin across her face and a rope in her hands.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!" Zatch yelled as he slammed the door shut.

"What's wrong, Zatch?" Tia asked as she walked up to him.

"It's Naomi!"

"Cool. Let her in."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I don't want to die!" Tia sweatdropped.

"Ooookay, then. Let's go to Megumi's room."

So Zatch, Tia, Kiyo, Suzy, and Ponygon went up to Megumi's room, which was pretty big. It was even roomy, even with all the stuff in it. Everyone sat around in a circle (except for Ponygon, he can't talk) waiting for Megumi to start talking.

"Alright guys, let's play," Megumi finally said.

"What are we playing?" Kiyo asked.

"This..." The room was silent for about three seconds when she finally stated, "Kiyo, Truth or Dare?"

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**Kai: Geez, I'm finally done. Don't ask me where the idea came from, because I barely know myself. Review please, and also, no flames. I use flames for grilling and for fireplaces.**

**Zatch: What happens now?**

**Kai: Ask Brago and Hyde about their bet. That happens sometime later.**

**Hyde: Does that mean Brago owes me?**

**Brago: Hell no!**


	2. Truth or Dare?

**I got a review! Yay! Next Chapter...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Zatch Bell, so don't sue. At all. Ever. PERIOD!

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**When we last met up with the gang, Zatch and Brago nearly killed Megumi and Tia in-between a Zaker attack and a Reis Attack, and as always, Tia wrung Zatch's neck for it. suzy came over with Ponygon, and Zatch escaped death in the form of Naomi. Now Megumi has made a suggestion for a game a lot of people are familiar with...

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_**Megumi's room**_

"Kiyo, truth or dare?" Kiyo couldn't help but stare and sweatdrop. He already knew he had feelings for Megumi, but Suzy was there and he didn't want to upset her. So, he said the stupidest thing,

"I'll pass..." Megumi would have had to pick for him, but she didn't want her room flooded with Suzy's tears (or fruit). Megumi simply replied, "Okay then," she had her eye on Zatch. "Zatch, truth or dare?"

Zatch was now stuck in-between a mamodo and a hardplace. He seriously wasn't going to admit how much he liked Tia, so he took a second risk (next to being choked again for the umpteenth time like Homer and Bart), "I'll pick dare."

Megumi didn't expect Zatch to say dare, so she thought of something quick, which would eventually get Zatch beat up again. "Hmm... I dare you to get Tia to tell you a deep dark secret anyway you can." Zatch looked puzzled and Tia along with everyone else sweatdropped. Zatch didn't want to know anything from Tia... or did he. Zatch stared her in the eyes for about ten seconds. Obvious enough, they both started to lightly blush after about five seconds. Zatch finally spoke, "Tia, do you have a crush on me?"

Even though they were sitting down, everyone but Tia, who blushed nearly crimson, anime fell. What a dumb-ass! It was extremely obvious, but the thing was they didn't tell each other... yet.

"I... can't say," Tia replied. Megumi signaled to Zatch to find out his answer. Zatch kind of didn't know how to make her talk. Kiyo nudged Zatch and Zatch turned towards him. Kiyo whispered something in Zatch's ear. Whatever it was, Zatch had an evil smirk on his face. He was gonna make Tia sing like a canary. After a minute of nothing, Zatch looked Tia in the eyes again.

"Are you sure you won't say anything?" Zatch asked with the same grin. Tia looked a little worried.

"Nothing at all," Tia replied boldly. Bad idea. Zatch figured to put Kiyo's idea to use.

"Okay, you asked for it." Zatch reached his hand near her ribs, and she jumped back a couple of feet. One secret she wouln't tell: how ticklish she was, and the answer to that... very. She thought she got away, but looked back and sweatdropped, which was really big because... she was in a corner! The next thing she knew, Zatch was standing right in front of her. 'What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?' she thought frantically, and had just thought of a way to escape, but was too late. Zatch had already started tickling her sides and she was in hysterics.

Zatch had thought of something while doing this: whenever Tia would beat the hell out of him, this is how he would get back at her. Tia was still in a fit of laughter, but refused to give up, and Zatch refused to let up. This went on for about five minutes with Tia trying to muster out a couple times to beg Zatch to stop, who kept going anyway. Finally after five straight minutes of Tia being relentlessly tortured, who was just about in tears, she had given up. "Okahahahahay I give, just stahahahahap!"

Zatch stopped and let her catch her breath for a few seconds. Tia then left the room, probably to straighten her hair, which was a mess. Not.

"Dude, who knew you had it in you?"Hyde asked Zatch with fascination.

"Hey Hyde," Brago said. "Twenty bucks says Zatch gets his ass kicked twenty times over."

"Deal."

"Come on, she can't be that mad, right Kiyo?" Zatch asked. Kiyo was beginning to think that interrogating Tia by ticking her wasn't such a good idea. As soon as Zatch asked Kiyo that question, the door slammed open, revealing a dark demoness-looking Tia holding a giant wooden hammer. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! Kiyo!"

"Sorry Zatch," Kiyo replied as he backed three feet away from Zatch. Now Zatch was the one with the giant sweatdrop, unlike Tia, who now has a giant anime vein.

"ZATCH BELL, PREPARE TO DIE!" she yelled. Zatch tried to run, but was smashed by the giant hammer.

"Knowing Tia, she'll be madder," Megumi said with a sweatdrop, answering Zatch's question.

"I'm beginning to take back... what I said to Kiyo just now," Zatch managed to say.

"I'll take that in cash, not a check," Brago smirked. Hyde paid Brago twenty dollars, just as promised. After Tia settled down and Zatch started to regain feeling, Tia finally told him.

"It's true, Zatch. I really like you a lot," Tia finally stated. They all already knew that Zatch and Tia were the best of friends, so no one reacted. Not yet anyway. Megumi coughed out an "Ahem". Tia wasn't telling the whole truth and she knew it. "Okay okay. Zatch, I... like you as a... a boyfriend," she managed to say, but was already beet red after the first word. Zatch was the only one who took this as sort of a surprise.

"Y-You are?" Zatch wanted to make sure he didn't have a concussion. Awkwardly, he was right in front of her, who leaned a bit and kissed him on the lips; and passionately, too. Everybody stared in amazement to see that Tia would have the courage to even do that, and that Zatch was kissing her back after a few moments of being stunned from when she actually did kiss him. Suzy pulled out a camera and was about to take a picture, which caught Zatch's eye, but they broke the kiss regardless. Kiyo looked at Megumi, who looked back, but both snapped back to reality when Zatch and Tia caught their attention. They weren't gonna let them try something funny.

Getting back to the game, Zatch had asked Suzy to choose, and she picked dare, and was dared to spin around really fast until he said stop, which was too late, and Suzy collapsed from dizziness and had spirals in her eyes. Suzy was unconscious, so Hyde asked next, and dared Ponygon to go outside and bite someone's hand, which for one reason or another, was Naomi. Naomi yelled in pain, and everyone else saw this from the window and laughed (A/N: She had it comin').

It was just now six thirty when the guys stepped out so the girls (except Tia, who was with Zatch) could have their private moment.

"Any idea what they're talking about?" Eido asked as they walked down the hallway. The girls were really making a plan for ambushing the guys and, well let's just say that the guys would be made into opposites for half an hour (no offense, but for all you idiots reading this, here's an obvious hint: Megumi has a lot of makeup), but Tia knew already what they were doing. As the girls were plotting, a metal ball came through the window along with three guys wearing gas masks.

"What are they doing in there?" Hyde impatiently asked. Just then they heard three screams.

"We'll answer that later, something's wrong!" Kiyo replied. They hurried back to Megumi's room and Kiyo opened the door, finding out the girls are gone and that there's a note on the floor.

"It's obvious they were kidnapped, but by who?" Kiyo inquired.

**

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Kai: Finally, another chapter done! Next time, the mamodo encounter a celestial mamodo! Review please, and no flames, those I can use for s'mores.**

Kanchome: Yay! S'mores!

Kai: Hey, you're not supposed to be in my fanfic, or here for that matter!

Kanchome: So?

Kai: So get the hell out of here! (kicks Kanchome, which sends him flying)

Kanchome: No faaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrr! (voice eventually fades)

Kai: (puts a hand near mouth as if whispering, but yells) FORE!

Hyde: Nice.


	3. Power of the Celestial Mamodo

**I'm back again! Yeah, boy! Sorry about not updating for a while, I was a little... tied up. Anyway...**

**Disclaimer: (Jamaican accent) Zatch Bell not be mine, mon!**

**Last time, everyone was playing Truth or Dare, and the dares ranged from finding out secrets by any means necessary, even if it got them killed, randomly biting somebody, and spinning around until someone said stop, even if you were way past dizzy. The guys (and Tia) left the room for a short moment to let Sherry, Megumi, and Suzy (who was conscious) take care of something, while Tia kept the guys preoccupied, but a metal ball bust through the window of Megumi's room, along with three guys in gas masks. Now, the three girls are gone, and left behind was a note...

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_**Megumi's Room**_

"Hmm..." Kiyo scanned the room to see if there were any clues besides the note and the metal ball. Brago picked up the metal ball and noticed a barely visible split down it.

"Sleeping gas," Brago said.

"Sleeping gas? How can you tell?" Kiyo asked. He then noticed a hidden security camera in the corner of her dresser. It was digital, so it had a flip-open side, and Kiyo opened it. "Hey guys, look at this." He signaled to the others to watch the video with him. "Now we'll see if Brago was right."

Kiyo rewound the recording a little bit and then played it. Here's what it was:

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The girls were looking all through Megumi's room for stuff. Among the things the girls gathered were five ropes, a big pink box that had makeup in it, and three pairs of night vision goggles, all gathered near the closet door. The girls were then talking and giggling about what they were going to do to the boys. Oh, the girls were going to have fun, all right; fun putting the guys through girl torture. Even Sherry was psyched up to do it (weird).

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The guys all had anime veins on their heads. Then they all stared at Tia, who tried playing innocent, but it didn't work. They knew she was in on it, and they were all planning on getting back at the girls for even trying to do something like that to them. They looked back at the video.

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Sherry was about to open the door and go get the guys, but before she could, a metal ball shot through the window, and three guys came through the window, and each approached a different girl. The girls backed up, but Suzy's heel hit the metal ball, splitting it open in half, releasing a light green gas into the air. The girls started to feel a little faint, but they still tried to hang on. The guys (who had on gas masks) took the ropes that were on the floor and were about to tie the girls up when they realized that it was sleeping gas. One of the guys said "You're ours now", and the three guys laughed somewhat of a maniacal-like perverted laugh, and before all three girls succumbed to the sleeping gas and fell asleep, they all screamed. After they were all unconscious, all three guys grabbed a girl, tied her up quick (speedy gonzalez quick), and jumped out of the window, and left a note.

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"I was right," Brago said.

"Yeah, but what about the note?" Hyde asked. Zatch had picked it up, and started reading it out loud.

"Bookowners and mamodo,

We have your friends hostage. If you ever want to see them again, go to the hidden cave outside of town. Your only limit: you cannot bring any mamodo to help you. If you do, these three girls will have to suffer a humiliatingly unbearable torture, and we're sure none of you will enjoy that. You have been warned.

Good luck without your little friends."

"What are we gonna do, Kiyo?" Zatch asked.

"I'm not sure, but we can't risk letting them get hurt, so you guys need to stay away from that cave," Kiyo replied.

"But how are you gonna save them without us?"

"Don't worry, we'll manage," Eido chimed in.

"Good luck," Tia said before Kiyo and Eido left.

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The next hour went by pretty fast. The mamodo decided to go fish for yellowtail (mostly Zatch's idea), and were now heading back to Megumi's to get some sleep and wait for their bookowners. A thought had just came to Zatch's mind.

"Guys, do you think it's safe to just wander around? We might get attacked by another mamodo!" Zatch pointed out.

"Stop worrying, we'll be fine," Brago simply replied. While they were all still walking through the park, something stopped them. A very faint light had appeared about a few feet from them. The light then burst and was shining really brightly now. After a few seconds, the light took shape and formed a girl about the same size as them.

"Who the hell are you, another mamodo?" Brago asked.

"I'm actually a celestial mamodo," the girl replied. "I am Ariya of the light, and I have come to you with a warning. Eight mamodo have been brought back to Earth; some were given a second chance, while others have escaped on their own for revenge."

"What do we do? We can't fight without our bookowners," Hyde pointed out. Ariya then held her hands out (palms up) and formed four different orbs of light. A red one floated toward Zatch, a black one to Brago, a red-orange one to Tia, and a green one to Hyde. All four light orbs went into their chests and they started to glow with the color of their light.

"What's happening to us?" Tia asked, concerned.

"You now have the power to use your spells without the need of a bookowner or a spell book, but be careful," Ariya replied. "The mamodo who came back to Earth also gained this power by second-chance or by somehow stealing it back in the mamodo world." The four mamodo stopped glowing and looked at Ariya, puzzled.

Brago held out his palm toward a tree. "You'd better be right," Brago warned. "**Reis!**" To everyone's (not Ariya) surprise, a ball of dark energy shot from Brago's hand, destroying the tree.

"Can you tell now that I wasn't kidding?" Ariya said as she started to fade away. "Farewell, and I wish you the best for the battle to become king," she finished as she completely faded away.

So, we're back to going to Megumi's house again. After walking for a while, at the same time, Zatch and Hyde tackled Tia and got their revenge for that plotting scheme. After the last chapter, you should know what I'm talking about. Brago was getting a little pissed off and really wanted to rest so he could go find Sherry, no matter what happened. He aimed his hand toward the three of them, and, "**Gravirei!**" slammed them to the ground. 'Why do I have to be stuck with these damn morons again?' he asked himself as they got up.

Walking again. Out of the blue, Tia got a really good idea.

"Any of you up for a late night game?" she asked.

"I am," they replied. They kept going and were about halfway back to the mansion. That is until...

"**Juron!**" came a voice as large vines emerged from the ground and lifted Tia and Hyde off of the ground.

'_Wait, I know this spell!_'Zatch thought.

"Zatch, help!" Tia screamed as she was being squeezed really tight by the vines.

"Damn, I can barely breathe," Hyde said to himself. "**Jikirga!**" Hyde managed to point to the vine crushing him and blasted a focused wind from his hands, destroying the vine. Tia could have used a spell, but she couldn't move her hands or arms at all. The vine constricted her even harder and she started to black out from the vine's pressure, and it squeezed her a little more as she passed out.

"Tia!" Zatch yelled as he jumped up to the vine, but...

"**Garon!**" A huge spiked metal bar from the shadows charged at Zatch and hit him full-force, knocking him out of the air.

"Where the hell are these attacks coming from?" Hyde exclaimed. Zatch was trying to get up when something else came flying towads him from the air.

"**Ganzu Garon!**" spike balls began to fly at Zatch now.

'_Dammit, so this is where it ends, huh?_' he thought. He couldn't move that much because of the spell he was hit with, and waited for the bombardment of balls. Brago tried to shield Zatch from a distance. "**Gravi**-"

"**Zeruk!**" a voice interrupted as a swift pink blur jumped past Zatch, slashing the spike balls as it went past them and also slashed whatever was causing the attack as they yelled in pain. The pink blur rebounded off of one of the vines still above ground and landed infront of Zatch. It took him a second to come out of his daze to see that someone was standing in front of him. A tear started to well up in one of his eyes as he realized who it was.

"Zatch?" they asked. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," he replied. He paused for a second. "I can't believe you're back..."

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**Cliffhanger! Another chapter done! Who was the mamodo that used vines? What was the mamodo that attacked Zatch? And why did Zatch have a tear in his eye after seeing someone, and who was that someone anyway? Review if you know the three mamodo mentioned, or find out next time in the next Zatch Bell chapter of Strongest Mamodo!**

**By the way, I still don't want any flames, that's for heating a flat griddle and making a Mongolian Barbecue-style bowl of food.**


	4. Won battles, Lost bets

**Hot damn! It's been a LONG while since I added a new chapter. I've been extremely busy lately, but here it is, chapter 4! (I made it a bit longer, too)**

**Disclaimer: (Chinese accent) I no have Zatch Bell. You know now, so no can sue.**

**Last time, the guys found out who kidnapped the girls, but only Kiyo and Eido could go save them, and without their mamodo either! While going back to Megumi's mansion, the mamodo met up with a celestial mamodo who gave them each the power to use their spells without a spell book, and warned of eight mamodo who came back from the mamodo world either by chance or escape, and they also gained this power, too. Well, three of those mamodo showed up, either to attack Zatch or to protect him, plus he even meets up with an old friend!

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_**Somewhere near the park**_

"It's you," Zatch said. "It's really you."

"Yep, good to see you," they replied.

"Kolulu!" Zatch yelled as he tackled the girl to the ground, forgetting that was her other self.

"Alright, alright, get off me!" Kolulu (other form) replied. Zatch stood up and so did she.

_'It looks like her other self has changed,'_ he thought. It really didn't look like her other self had changed; she still had her long, spiky pink hair, she still had all pink eyes, and she still had her claws, but Zatch could tell that her personality had changed, like Kolulu had been able to control the other her. Just then, he sensed something.

"**Juron!**" came a voice. Vines then emerged from the ground and targeted Zatch and Kolulu.

"Jeez..." Zatch muttered. He then grabbed the vines in his arms, stopping them. "Enough of hiding already, show yourself!" A mamodo with a green tent-looking hat and the same kind of clothes as the hat (tent-looking, except the clothes were light green) came out from behind a tree.

"So, it is Sugino," Zatch said to the mamodo.

"Heh, did you expect a yellowtail on wheels?" Sugino replied. By then Tia was regaining consciousness and looked up.

"I guess I can tell which mamodo you're fighting with, can't I?" Zatch added. The mamodo who was attacking with metal-based attacks emerged from the shadows.

"It's Maruss!" Zatch and Tia exclaimed. "How'd you come back to Earth!" Zatch yelled.

"I escaped and got this power in the process," Maruss replied. He then looked left to see Tia standing up. "So Tia, I see that you're still in the battle to become king."

"Yeah I am, is that a problem?" she replied. "At least I stayed in longer; You were just too weak."

Maruss wasn't too happy to hear that. "You'll pay for that!" he yelled. "**Giga Garanzu!**" a large drill appeared in front of him and he pushed it in Tia's direction. "DIE, TIA!"

"**Jikirga!**" A blast of wind shot towards the drill, blasting it to bits. Maruss looked to see who it was.

"Did you forget that I was here?" Hyde pointed out to him. Maruss was now really pissed off. "Screw this!" he yelled. "**Ganzu Garon!**" he then shot spiked balls from his hands, but they were bigger and faster than the ones he shot at Zatch. They were all flew in Hyde's direction, but unforunately two of them flew in other directions, one hitting Tia hard in the chest, who coughed out blood and fell to the ground, and the other one hit Kolulu who tried to block it, but it still hit her really hard and she collapsed to the ground unconscious and reverted back to her normal form. It would be way too obvious not to know that Zatch was even more pissed off than Maruss was, and before Hyde could raise his arms in front of him to attack, Zatch ran so fast in front of Hyde that it looked more like Zatch teleported.

Maruss had an evil grin on his face (like he always does). "So, you're gonna die with him then!" he exclaimed. He really shouldn't have said that, because as soon as the metal balls were almost close, Zatch started to rapidly punch them, breaking, no, shattering them. Maruss was shocked. "That's impossible! No one's ever been able to stop that attack without using a spell, let alone break them!"

Zach had a look on his face similar to Zeno's, but Zatch's face looked much meaner, and much colder. "Nobody hurts my friends, Maruss. Got it?" Zatch coldly said. Behind him was a huge plant.

"You're dead!" Sugino yelled from behind. "**Raja Jugaro!**" a giant plant behind Zatch then fired several large seeds at him. The way Zatch was at that time, it was a really bad idea; he was way too quick, and he seemingly disappeared. "What! Where'd he go?"

"Right here," Zatch replied behind him. As soon as Sugino started to turn around to glance at him, Zatch kicked him so hard that Sugino was sent flying right into Maruss, knocking him over, but they both stood up a couple of seconds later. When they stood up, the first thing they saw was an angry Zatch.

"You'd think that you both would've learned not to mess with me after the first battles I had with you," Zatch said.

_Double Flashback_

_"**Raja Jugaro!**" A large plant fired large seeds at Zatch and Kiyo._

_"The second spell, **Rashield!**" An electric shield erupted from the ground._

_"How could they still have so much power left!" Haru exclaimed as the seeds which were fired got stuck in the lightning wall for half of a second before being fired back with an electric charge. The seeds nearly missed Haru and Sugino, but the spell book was burned. "AAAAAAHH!" Sugino yelled as the last remains of his burning book burned into ashes, and he disappeared back into the mamodo world._

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_"Okay Zatch, give him everything you've got!" Kiyo exclaimed as Zatch grabbed Maruss' shoulders while in front of him. "**Zaker!**" Zatch blasted Maruss at full power with a giant blast of lightning and Maruss yelled as his clothes were being burned off leaving him only in his pants (burnt and charred) and shoes. As soon as Maruss got up, Zatch was right in front of him. "And this is checkmate! **Zaker!**" Kiyo read as Zatch blasted Maruss again who was hit so hard that his spell book that Rembrandt was holding started to burn. "NOOOOOOO!" Maruss yelled as the last of his spell book burned to ashes as he disappeared and was sent back in the mamodo world._

Zatch was really pissed off now. Random sparks of lightning began to be visible all over Zatch. His hair also began to spike up.

"If you two ever hurt my friends again," Zatch said in a voice so cold that it would give even a demon the chills, "you'll regret the day you ever met me."

"Heh, good point," Sugino replied as he and Maruss jumped in different directions into the air.

"The only thing we regret is not burning your book!" Maruss added as he aimed his hands toward Zatch. "Now die! **Ganzu Garon!**"

Sugino added an attack. "**Raja Jugaro!**" A barrage of spiked metal balls shot towards Zatch from one direction while another barrage of seeds shot towards him from the opposite direction.

Without warning, Zatch shot wide blasts of lightning from his hands in each direction, incinerating the approaching attacks. Maruss and Sugino landed and were stunned by Zatch's sudden power boost. They both approached each other quickly and prepared for a final attack.

...or so they thought. Zatch was sparking with lightning more and more each second, until...

"This is for all the good mamodo sent back because of mamodo like you two..." Zatch began to speak. "For hurting my friends!" The ground beneath him started to break. "For being the persistent bastards you are! **Bao Zakeruga!**" Zatch fird a huge lightning dragon from his mouth into the air, which then came down and targeted Sugino and Maruss. Zatch then approached them. "I know who's doing this, and when you meet up with him again, tell him this..."

Zatch finished his sentence right before the dragon hit both of the stunned mamodo.

"...your screwed...you bastard."

As soon as he finished his sentence, both Maruss and Sugino were hit head on by the lightning dragon, engulfing them in a blast of lightning, who were yelling in pain. The blast was so hard, they flew back at least forty feet and crashed into a nearby wall.

White lightning began to spark under both of the charred mamodo. "Looks like we survived," Sugino wearily said.

"You may have won this time, Zatch," Maruss added on. "But we'll be back!" The lightning below them shot upwards, engulfing them, then it dissipated, and Maruss and Sugino had disappeared. Zatch had now stopped sparking and had turned back to normal, besides all of his battle scars. He had now approached the half-conscious Hyde and Brago.

"Let's go," he simply said as he picked up Tia (bridal style if you must know).

"Zatch, you're too worn out," Hyde chimed in.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine." After the first few steps, he collapsed.

"Idiot..." Brago muttered.

"Now what do we do?" Hyde questioned. "There are two of us, but three of them." An idea then popped into both of their heads. They looked at each other and nodded. They gathered all three of the knocked out mamodo beside thtem and tried their plan out.

"**Gravirei.**" Brago aimed to the ground and created a dark gravity board that floated upwards with all five mamodo on it. "**Jikir!**" Hyde pointed his hand opposite of where they were supposed to go and blasted wind from his hand, and they were off.

"Well, at least this worked," Hyde said.

"Yeah I guess," Brago replied.

_**Megumi's mansion**_

They finally arrived at Megumi's mansion after a long night, and the window was open, so they flew right in. Hyde and Brago both took Zatch and the other two girls to seperate bedrooms; Zatch in a guest bedroom, Kolulu in another guest bedroom, and Tia in Megumi's room. Brago managed to get all of the shards of the broken window in Megumi's bedroom together and, "**Gravirei.**" pressed them together to make another glass covering to fit into the window. He left her room along with Hyde to sleep sitting up on the wall near all of the bedrooms for security reasons; they were too tired to fight off any more mamodo.

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About twenty minutes later, something woke up both Hyde and Brago. The door to Megumi's room began to open. They both used a spell to float in the air, Hyde using **Jikir** and Brago using **Gravirei**.

"I wonder why Tia's up," Hyde whispered. She looked in five different rooms, then stopped at the room she found. Hyde and Brago, of course, followed her to see what room it was. They both peered in to see what she was doing, still hidden out of sight, and then saw that it was the room Zatch was in.

"Zatch," Tia quietly said. "I never got the chance to tell you, but thanks for saving me." Even though it was dark in the room, a bit of moonlight poured into the room from a window to brighten the room a tiny bit. Then they saw Tia lightly blush as if she was going to do something. "You already know that I like you as a boyfriend, but..." Hyde and Brago were listening and watching fully now. "I actually like you more than that. I'm..." Her blush deepened and almost rivaled that of a tomato's color. "I'm actually... actually _in_ love with you," she finally spat out.

_'Man, who knew she liked him _that_ much?'_ Hyde thought.

_'How could she be in love with someone if she halfway kills them all the time...?'_ Brago thought. Then came the slightly unexpected; she bent down and kissed him on the lips. Brago raised an eyebrow while Hyde raised both eyebrows and smirked, then a random cash register sound in his head rang. _'Cha-ching!'_ Tia then got up and walked towards the door as Hyde and Brago quickly flew back into the air to avoid being seen.

"It looks kinda romantic how the moonlight hit them when she kissed them," Brago told Hyde who was still smirking. Brago saw this, then asked "Why are you smiling?"

"Because she kissed him," he replied. "Which means that you owe me!"

"What the hell are you talking about...?"

"So you don't remember? Then think back."

_Flashback_

_"Ten bucks says she kisses him on the lips before we crash," Hyde said to Brago._

_"You're on," Brago smirked as he shook Hyde's hand._

"Fine..." Brago said as he paid the ten dollars that Hyde was due.

"How 'bout another bet?" Hyde asked.

"Hmph," Brago smirked. "If Kolulu doesn't kiss Zatch within five minutes, pay me twenty dollars."

"If she does, pay me forty!" Hyde replied with a small anime vein.

After four minutes, notihing happened as they floated in the air.

"Looks like you'll lose," Brago said. A second after he said that, Kolulu walked out of her room to the open door leading to Zatch's room, who also approached his bed.

_"Thirty seconds left,'_ Brago thought with a smirk. Kolulu started to quietly speak to the sleeping Zatch,

"Thanks a lot Zatch for protecting me." Just like Tia, she started blushing too, but only slight. "I never even got the chance to say how much I loved you; you're just a really good mamodo, and really cute too."

_'Three... two... one...'_ Hyde thought. Then right after he thought that, Kolulu kissed Zatch on the lips, but a lot deeper than Tia.

_'What!'_ Brago thought. _'Why her too? And why do I keep losing these damn bets?'_

As soon as she left the room and closed the door behind her, Hyde said to Brago, "I'm gettin' paid tonight! Yes!"

"Damn you!" Brago replied with an anime vein. Brago paid Hyde thirty more dollars and their spells wore off as they landed on the ground. They walked back to their spot on the wall with Hyde smiling and Brago with a sweatdrop.

_'Forty dollars! Hell yeah!'_ Hyde thought as he sat against the wall.

_'When am I gonna stop losing...?'_ Brago thought with a sweatdrop.

* * *

**Yes! I'm finally done with yet another chapter! Now because it's summer, I'm gonna update as often as I can! Oh yeah, in about a week, I'm starting a Code: Lyoko fanfic. If i have enough time, it's gonna be a fanfic trilogy! Oh well... review please! Also, no flaming. If you do, I'll just use them for my family barbecue this Saturday. Ribs and steak and chicken! Woo hoo!**


	5. The Dragon Child Legend! Brago Loses!

**Alright! I'm back again for another chapter! So sorry I'm really late again, though... But first, I need to get a few things off my chest.**

**1 - I've gotten over ****2000 ****hits on this fic! *sniffle* Wow... you guys are the best.**

**2 - To my reviewers this past chapter...**

_**Twilight Memories**_**: Yes, Brago keeps losing. A sad continuing event for the dark mamodo, no? XD**

_**Sarah303**_**: Thanks, and of course I'm gonna finish this! Besides, I don't want to have to work on two fics at a time. I'm a really busy guy, after all!**

_**kingdom219**_**: Oh, it isn't just going to be Zatch, Tia and Kolulu, as you'll soon see later on this chapter. (mwahahahahaha... I mean... such a sad fate for Zatch to be fought over, to wind up as collateral damage.)**

**Oh yeah, I've decided not to have them say their spells anymore. They'll just do them, with slight warning.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Zatch Bell. There I said it. Sue me... and go broke.**

**Last time, ****Zatch ended the battle with Maruss and Sugino by getting a sudden burst of power. Afterwards, he struggled to go on his own, but was too weak to, so Brago and Hyde combined their spells to get them back to Megumi's mansion (finally!). Because everyone else was resting, they had to guard the place while the other three recuperated, although it didn't take the girls that long, seeing as they got up to give their thanks to a recovering Zatch. As Hyde and Brago spied on them, Hyde won two bets.**** Hopefully Brago's luck will change with winning... and hopefully Zatch's luck, too. (if you had one girl who usually beats you up in another world and another with a dual personality, both of which had a crush on you, you'd want your luck to change too).**

**Anyway, next chapter!**

* * *

_**Megumi's mansion (again), 8:00am**_

Morning seemed to come a little too early. Hyde and Brago were sitting against the wall asleep, Zatch was dreaming of a feast of yellowtail, and Tia and Kolulu... were gone... somewhere. The first to come back was Tia, who was soaked, carrying a yellowtail.

"I'm reminding myself to never do that again," Tia said to herself as she dragged the yelowtail to the kitchen and threw her dress off, then proceeded to get another dress, which was the same style she usually wears n . A few minutes later, she was in the kitchen chopping up the yellowtail she caught, making it into sushi (what the heck??), then left.

A minute after that, Kolulu walked in with a basket of various fruits. Luckily, Tia wasn't occupying the kitchen anymore, so she found a bowl and laid it on the ground, then transformed one of her hands into the same claw as her other form (she can do that now).

'I hope he likes it,' she thought as she threw the fruit from the basket into the air and, with one swift cut, peeled and diced the fruit in a way that would make chefs look like kids. She transformed her hand back to normal and she threw the peelings away as she left, feeling slightly proud of her culinary technique.

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Zatch had finally started to stir and got out of bed, then realized something as he placed a finger on his mouth. 'My lips taste kinda...' he thought, but dismissed it and went to the kitchen, much to his delight seeing a bowl of fruit salad and a tray of sushi, both of which had notes by them. He read the note by the sushi first:

_Yellowtail sushi; for Zatch_

_-Tia_

Zatch slightly drooled as he read what it was, who then took a quick glance at the finely-made sushi, then ate it all in about two seconds. 'This is really good!' he thought in delight. 'I should really ask Tia to make more of this.' Then he looked at the note by the fruit bowl and read it:

_I hope you like it Zatch; fresh fruit just for you_

_-Kolulu_

Zatch looked at the fruit inside of the bowl and, of course, ate it. After he was done with his breakfast, he went and got dressed, then went to wake up Brago and Hyde.

"Hey! Wake up!" he yelled in both of their ears, making them slightly jump up.

"Hm?" Hyde looked up. "Have you ever heard of sleeping in...? Besides, we've been up all night."

Brago looked up at a clock. "It's only 9 a.m.," he pointed out in his usual tone as he stood up. "Let's go."

The three of them left the mansion in separate directions; Brago went to go train somewhere, Hyde went into town for a few yellowtail burgers, and Zatch...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!" was running from Naomi, again... _'Wait, I have an idea!'_ he thought quickly as he led Naomi near a metal shed.

"Get back here!" she yelled. After a while, Zatch lost her. "Where'd he go?" To answer her question, Zatch shot a Jikerdor, making her glow yellow and fly right into the shed, sticking her to it. "Hey! W-what happened to me?!"

"Ha-ha, you're stuck! Bye!" Zatch laughed as he came from behind a tree, then left.

A deserted playing field

Zatch sighed in boredom. "Where is everybody?" he asked himself, still walking aimlessly. He finally stopped when he felt the same light presence as last night. A few moments later, everyone else was teleported to the empty field.

"Culd thumbody ehhcsplain to me whaff's going on?" Hyde asked with a burger in his mouth.

"Can't somebody at least warn me of things like this first?!" Tia complained, quickly pulling the other half of her dress back up. The light transformed, yet again, into a mamodo.

"The light mamodo, Ariya," Brago stated. "What is it this time?"

"With the coming of a mamodo from the darkess to the light, the prophecy will be fulfilled," Ariya said.

"What does this have to do with me?"

"You, along with the four among you, are in the prophecy," she replied.

"What prophecy?" Zatch asked.

"The prophecy of the seven dragon children," Ariya said.

Hyde's eyes widened. "No way. You mean that thing is for real?"

"What's she talkin' about...?" Brago asked. "And don't make this long."

"I once heard about this back in the mamodo world. There are seven mamodo whose can use their powers combined with the force of an ancient dragon. There were seven elements: fire, water, lightning, wind, darkness, light, and steel."

"Zatch has already awakened his dragon power from within himself," Ariya stated.

"I have?" he asked, then he realized what she meant. "Ohhhh, I _have_." Everyone else except Ariya looked puzzled. "Guys, it's my fourth spell," he explained. "Get it?" They realized what he meant and replied with an understanding "ohhhh."

"Your spell, Bao Zakeruga, is the manifestation of this power. The other spells also look similar to it."

"Wait, who are the other six then?" Tia chimed in.

"You four are also in the dragon prophecy. The other two will be revealed to you soon enough," Ariya replied, earning surprised looks from the group.

"So are we just supposed to guess who these other two are and what dragon the rest of us have?" Brago pressed.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot tell you that. As for the dragons, remember your element..." she said, fading away and disappearing.

Everyone sweatdropped. "Gone as quickly as she came," Hyde said, everyone nodding in agreement. "Oh well. Time to go." Before anyone could walk two feet, Hyde was struck in the back with a boulder and Zatch was pierced in the shoulder with a laser, both of them falling to the ground. The others turned to see who it was, seeing a group of mamodo walking towards them.

"Eshros, and Robnos," Zatch said weakly, getting to his feet.

"You..." Brago growled as he spotted the mamodo leading them.

"My my, you don't look too happy to see me, Brago," they replied in a cracked, feminine voice.

"Why would I?" Brago asked coldly, charging up a Reis shot. "I sent you back myself, Zofis, there's no way you should be back among the world of humans."

"Ahh, but on the contrary. I was given a second chance," he replied, and in response, Brago fired at him, only for it to be blocked with a small wall of earth.

"Don't give me that crap!" he barked. "Your power was stolen, just like the rest of you cowards."

"Before we go any further, under orders, I'd like to offer a truce between us," Zofis said. "A truce to join together and--"

Before he could finish his statement, wind sliced through his hat, nearly missing his head, but still splitting the hat. "I speak for all of us when I say: think we'll pass, freakshow," Hyde said.

"You will pay for your insolence!" Zofis yelled, his eyes turning red and yellow with slits. "Eshros! Sugino! Maruss! Robnos! Show no mercy!" he barked, wildly firing Radom blasts at the wind boy and his friends, but they never made it as a blast of water flew from behind them and hit Zofis' spell head-on, eliminating both of them.

"Sorry, but I'm the only one that gets to attack my Zatchy-poo and his friends," a female voice said. Everyone turned to see none other than...

"Aaaahhhh! Penny!" Zatch yelled in a panic.

Tia, however, didn't sound too pleased. "You honestly just called him ' your Zatchy-poo'?" she asked, obviously annoyed.

"Of course I did. Is that a problem, miss tomboy?" Penny taunted, causing Tia to grow an anime vein on her head. After three minutes of arguing back and forth over Zatch, Brago, annoyed by their bickering, shut them both up by slamming them to the ground with a Gravirei spell. "What was that for?!" they both barked in unison.

Brago simply stared at them. "...does Brago have to choke a bitch...?" he calmly and nonchalantly said, like it wasn't at all out of character.

"That... is... eee-NOOOUUUGH!" Zofis yelled, fire flaring up around him. "How dare you ignore ME, like you aren't about to lose your lives!"

Brago smirked, then turned around. "All of you, step back," Brago said, walking towards their group of enemies. "I'll handle him. Better yet, you can ask that other snake-eyed freak to join you as well."

"What was that?!" Eshros barked in anger.

"So you're more than that I take it."

"Maybe you should find out for yourself!" he replied, slamming the ground and causing three cannons made of earth and rocks to rise from it. "Take this! Triple Grandsen Cannon, fire!" he yelled, boulders firing rapidly at Brago.

"Is that it...?" he sighed, running towards his two targets, effortlessly punching through every flying boulder, but suddenly stopped when the cannons stopped. "What the--? I can't move...!"

Eshros laughed. "You walked right into my Claydo trap! Or more like onto it...! Now for you to get smashed like the insect you are!" he laughed as he slapped his palms on the ground, Brago simply "hmph"ing and closing his eyes. Eshros' Groundam walls began to form in the ground on either side of Brago.

"Brago, no! Do something!" Zatch yelled.

"DIE!!!" Eshros yelled, both earth walls smashing together like a bear trap, with Brago in-between them.

All of the allied mamodo looked in silence and disbelief. "Excellent work, Eshros," Zofis said with happiness. "That was easier than I thought."

"Ha! He wasn't so tough after all, not with this new power of course," Eshros replied, grinning.

"Hmph. New power? You make it sound like _you're_ one of those dragon children," a voice called out.

Zofis looked around in horror. "Th-that's impossible...! He can't still be alive!"

"Of course. And kicking," the voice replied as the risen earth walls began to rumble and slightly crack, then, moments later, it completely broke apart, Brago standing in one piece with his leg in the air. "How sad. You order someone to fight me, yet they can't even come anywhere close to killing me. Then again, he did scratch me a little, which makes him stronger than even you, Zofis."

Both Zofis' and Eshros' looks of shock and fear gradually changed into anger and rage. "How dare you mock my strength, you cocky bastard!!" Eshros yelled as he jumped backwards while Zofis flew in the air.

"I'll make sure you never open that arrogant mouth of yours again, Brago!" Zofis barked. "Now it's time for me to awaken my power!" He raised his arm up and fired a huge Oruga Reis blast at the clouds, letting it be engulfed. Seconds later, the clouds darkened and began thundering in shades of red, orange and yellow. "ARISE, MY GREAT DRAGON!" Zofis yelled as a huge dragon made of fire, about as big as Bao Zakeruga, emerged from the clouds, roaring.

Brago and the others were stunned. "Impossible... Zofis is the fire dragon child?!" he asked out loud.

"ATTACK!" Zofis screamed and directed the dragon with his arm, descending downward towards the Goth mamodo. "Eshros! Now!"

Eshros slapped his hands together, then on the ground as a giant snake made of boulders rose from the ground upwards, engulfing itself in Zofis' flaming dragon. "Let's see you survive _this_, Brago! **Burning Earth Serpent!**" he cried out, Brago having barely any time to react as the combo spell flew towards him, barely being able to brace himself, causing him to yell in extreme pain as it crashed down on him, exploding in a column of fire seconds later.

"Brago! Noooo!" Kolulu yelled as she was about to run over and help, but was held back by Hyde. "Kolulu, you can't! You'll only get hurt too!"

Zofis, proud of what was accomplished, landed. "And so it ends for one of the mamodo world's so-called 'front runners.'" he said, laughing maniacally.

"No way... You can't be dead," Zatch said in disbelief. "You promised me that we would have a rematch! You promised Sherry that you'd be there for her when times got rough! You have to be alive!"

"Ahhhh. Poor, naive Zatch," Zofis said with an evil grin. "That Sherry was no help at all to him. She was just as weak as he was, and that's exactly how we were able to get her."

Everyone's eyes widened. "You don't mean--"

"Well, it seems you truly aren't as dumb as you look," he replied. "Yes, I was the one who ordered those fools to kidnap your female bookowners. Without their mamodo partners, it'll be just as easy to take the male owners' books and capture them as well. As an added bonus for handing my other partner their books, I let those men do as they wish with them. It is only a matter of time, boy. Kiyo and those other two fools can't protect the four of them forever."

"This other partner of yours must be Zofis then."

"My, my. How sharp you are today," he replied.

"That third guy has to be Mr. Sunbeam then," Zatch said.

"No, Zatch," Penny chimed in. "It was Uri."

"Ahh yes, of course. Penny my dear, why don't you join back up with me, and I'll consider sparing your owner," Zofis added with a wicked smile.

"Leave him alone! I'm not going to--" she said, but stopped midway, sensing something dark.

"You..." Kolulu said in a dark tone unlike her. "You were the ones who took Lori away!" she yelled, eyes completely pink. Kolulu then fully transformed. "I'LL KILL YOU!" she rushed at Zofis, ready to slash him. Kolulu, however, missed her mark by an inch, being shot by Robnos' laser in her chest, sending her flying backwards. "Whats the matter? Forget about me?" Robnos asked.

"Kolulu!" Zatch cried, catching her before she fell.

"Thank you Zatch. Now put me down, and let me recover," Kolulu said, drifting off, but still in her second form.

"All weak. You're all weak!" Zofis yelled. "Now I see why your bookowners were so easy to capture, because they have no strength whatsoever! The exact same reason as to why Brago was destroyed: because of that incompetent owner of his!" he finished, cackling. "And now you'll all die here!"

The enemy mamodo slowly started to advance on the group of allies, the latter slowly trying to inch backwards. "This is it then. We're doomed," Tia said in dismay, a dark voice, moments later, maniacally laughing.

* * *

**Cliffhanger!! With Brago gone, is Zatch and his friends really about to be defeated by Zofis and his new alliance? What's happening to Kiyo, Eido and Uri, and what about the girls? And what the heck was that crazy laugh about?! I'm revealing it all in the next, soon-to-be-written chapter!**

**Review please! No flames unless you wanna get burned too!**


	6. Hidden Power: Unleash the Dragon

**Sorry guys, it's been a while I know. This should've been finished a loooong time ago, but things happen when you go through high school and start college, etc. So I've decided to revive this fic once again, and as an added bonus, give my dedicated readers an extra long chapter, and added goodies. Thanks to all who hung in there and reviewed too. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Zatch Bell, but I do own this fic, and the concept of the dragon children.**

* * *

_**Somewhere…**_

_"...What happened...?"_

A figure stirred in the darkness.

_"__**..B...o...**__"_

"...Where am I?"

A dark, looming shadow towered over.

_"__**...a...go...**__"_

"...It's hot. Hm... I must be in hell. That sucks."

"_**...Brago.**__"_

Brago's eyes shot open, only to see darkness, then sensed a presence and turned around, being greeted by a giant black dragon, accented with midnight purple and surrounded by a faint aura of the same color.

_"What the...? Who are you?" _Brago asked.

_"__**I am you. And you are me**__," _the dragon replied in a deep voice. _"__**I dwell inside of you and have since your creation**__."  
_  
_"What? So you mean..."_

"_**You are ready to claim your title as the dragon child of the dark**__."_Brago smirked at what the dragon told him; however...

"_I need to know something, dragon..._" Brago began to inquire. "_Am I dead, and why is it that I can only see or talk to you now of all times?_"

The dragon of darkness chuckled. "_**You aren't dead, kid,**_" he replied. "_**Your life was in danger, so I emerged and brought you to part of your own inner world. I know you desire the power to be the best, along with the power to protect your bookowner**__._"

"Sherry is merely the human who reads and holds on to my book," Brago spat. "_Don't misunderstand that as me caring for her, dragon._" In response, the dragon laughed. "_I'm serious...!_"

"_**I'm not a fool, boy, so do not take me as one!**_" the dark beast bellowed, unnerving Brago. "_**You seem to forget that I dwell inside you. I know your true heart. And right now, you're needed. Look into my eyes**_," he commanded, and Brago looked. He saw within his mind...

"_Sherry!_" he exclaimed, seeing her isolated in a room, her clothes with numerous cuts and burns and some kind of small white bands on her wrists with a matching one on her neck.

"Sheeerr-rryyyy", a voice from behind her sang. "You have to tell us sooner or later." Sherry was attempting to defend herself from a female member of the gang that kidnapped her.

"Even if I knew what this whole 'dragon spell' thing was about, I'm not telling you a thing!" she replied, charging at her to throw a punch. The gang member stopped her attack, catching Sherry's fist in her hand.

"Please… You can do much better than that," she teased, annoying Sherry, but earning a gasp when her other hand began to catch fire. "You seem to forget that I, Karyn, can control flame!" she exclaimed, blasting Sherry back with a fireball. "Oh and I hope you didn't forget the rule of your 'game,' because five more minutes have passed." Sherry's eyes widened, then she screamed in pain as the white bands shocked her with white electricity through her entire body, then ended, causing her to collapse to the ground.

"Next time will be seven seconds," Karyn pointed out. "I would say 'hurry and find the key to unlock those,' but you won't even leave this room alive by the time I'm done with you. In fact..." Sherry looked up and watched in horror as Karyn's finger lit up. "...forget orders. This book of yours is history!" she said as she pointed at the black spellbook.

"No, you can't!" Sherry cried as she struggled to move.

"_My book...!_"

"_**That's not all kid...**_"

"That Sherry was no help at all to him." _That's Zofis!_"She was just as weak as he was, and that's exactly how we were able to get her..." He was the one behind Sherry's disappearance... "...As an added bonus, I let those men do as they wish with them..."

Brago's eyes went wide, his hand beginning to ignite from a surrounding force he couldn't see. "_I'll... make him pay..._" he slowly let out, still partly seeing the current vision of Sherry's predicament.

"Such a shame those other idiots couldn't play their own game with you," Karyn said, charging the flame on her finger, her glare at Sherry becoming slightly seductive. "Hope you enjoy this, cause afterwards I'm gonna enjoy you, right before I send you into hell to join whatever mamodo was attached to that book!" she exclaimed, failing to notice the faint violet glow surrounding Brago's book.

"_I'll destroy him...!_" Brago said in anger, his teeth bared and unknowingly changing the sparks around his hand into a purplish flame, slowly absorbing it.

"...The exact same reason as to why Brago was destroyed: because of that incompetent owner of his! And now you'll all die here!"

"Say your last goodbyes, Sherry!" she yelled as she fired her flaming shot, engulfing Brago's book in a blaze of orange and yellow.  
"Nooooo!" Sherry cried out, tears forming in her eyes.

"_I'll CRUSH him!_" he bellowed, only the whites of his eyes showing, the embers fully absorbed by his hand, gaining the attention of the black dragon...

Sherry gasped in shock. "What... the...?"

"What's happening?" Karyn exclaimed, the spellbook glowing brightly, turning the flames purple and black and slowly extinguishing them. "Why didn't the book burn?"

In anger and frustration, he roared out a long battle cry, clenching his fists and building up what energy he had left inside him, then he suddenly released his power, exploding outward in a flash of violet light...

"A new spell, at a time like this? That's impossible, it's glowing too bright," Sherry thought, the book glowing brighter until it released a surging blast of power, hitting both Sherry and Karyn. Sherry felt a slight push, but Karyn was thrown back into one of the walls, leaving an imprint of her and almost knocking her unconscious. Also, much to their surprises, Sherry's bands short circuited and broke into pieces, freeing her. "But how...?" she thought, then dismissed it as she got up, grabbed her book and headed to the door.

"_What the..._" Brago couldn't believe how much power was coursing through him, a dark aura spiraling around him with a hint of flame flowing through it.

"_**Well I'll be, kid**__,_" the dragon stated, chuckling. "_**It seems as if you've absorbed a little of the fire dragon's power as well**__._"

"_How? Was that girl a product of Zofis's dragon?_"

"_**Very observant of you. However, you did not absorb its power just because of her. It was also due to your inner power increasing and absorbing fire from the surrounding column of flame.**__"_

"_Ok, so now that I accidentally absorbed some of his power, what happens to me?_" Brago questioned.

"_**According to legend, you can now partially wield his power as your own**__._"

"_...Huh?_"

"_**Behold, the darkness flame: several times more powerful than your strongest spells combined. However, you should only use this for now about once in an earth day, so use it wisely until you can master it. Don't overdo it kid, or else... Now then, I have a firefly to toy with.**_"

"_A what?_" Brago stared at the dark, towering dragon questioningly.

"_**Part of my being was released into that room when your book surged. I'm simply getting it back while having a little fun in the process.**_"

"_Don't tell me..._"

"Stop!" Karyn yelled as Sherry opened the large door, coughing up blood in the process. "I'm not... done with you yet."

Sherry smirked, hoping that shadowed figure she thought she saw was real. "Don't worry, I believe you have company," she replied, walking out and shutting the door. Suddenly, everything began getting dark, prompting Karyn to create a small light with a flame flowing from her finger. A small, chilling gust of wind flew through the room and extinguished her flame, worrying her, then she immediately turned around, feeling like she was being watched.

"Wh-who's there?" she stuttered, eyes widening when a small red eye appeared, then yelping in shock as something that felt like chains latched on to her wrists, ankles and neck, attaching to the ground. She looked on in fear as the eye began developing a white, puppet-like face on one side. This had to be a mamodo, maybe one that could save her, right? Looking at the wall, the figure slowly turned its head to look at her...

"**...Hello Karyn.**"

...causing her breath to hitch, eyes wide.

"**You claim that you are worthy of manipulating fire… However, I deem you unworthy of the body you possess…**"

"Oh God please no..."

"**I wanna play a game...**"

Minutes later, a blood-curdling scream could be heard within a two mile radius, scattering any nearby wildlife.

"_...You truly are a beast of darkness._"

The dark dragon chuckled. "_**An eye for an eye, kid. You know you wanted revenge**__._"

"_..._"

"_**Enough talk. Be lucky she isn't dead... Yet. Now that you have part of my power, I can return you back to battle. Just remember what I said about your limit, unless you want me to pay an unexpected visit. That goes for the rest of the dragon children as well...**_" the darkness being stated, chuckling before Brago could ask what he meant, the dark beast's tail slowly melting under him. His eyes widened at this, slowly being drowned in the melted dark matter...

_**Continuing from the end of chapter 5…**_

Everyone froze at the sound, searching the area for the source.

"Is that...?" Tia questioned the idea that it could be their black-clad ally.

"No! It can't be!" The mamodo children spun around at Zofis's reaction, who stared at the pillar of flame in fear. Slowly, the fire began changing from a bright orange and yellow to purple and white.

"How…?" Eshros questioned. "No one can survive all of that! That's impossible—"

"No," Brago interrupted, emerging from the burning column, which slowly began to dissipate. "It's not, and I did. Now then," he added, glaring at Zofis, "which one of you owes me a new shirt, seeing as though it burned off…"

Zofis, in an attempt to hide his nervousness, began building up power. "I will not be defeated by someone like you!"

"We should have covered that already," Brago replied. "So my bookowner may act a bit emotional at times, but she does give me the power that I need!" he yelled, glowing as he began building more power in response. "Darkness flame, I summon you!"

"The what?" Penny asked. Hyde looked on in surprise, then changed to a serious expression. "The darkness flame… It was thought to be just a half-hearted horror story for little mamodo that believed in the dragon legend. My guess is that Brago took some of Zofis's power somehow."

"Amazing…"

"Don't think that I didn't hear everything you said after you and your little earth-boy slave decided to sneak in a combined attack," Brago stated, angering Eshros.

"What was that?" he replied, charging the darkness-wielding mamodo, only to be slammed by a Gravirei.

Bravo then began to build up a dark, flaming energy in his hand. "You know I can't control this yet because of the dragon. Once I release this, I have no say." Zofis began to slowly try sneaking away, only to get caught in Brago's Gravirei with Eshros.

"No! L-let me go! Wait!" Zofis pleaded.

"You should have never insulted Sherry, Zofis... Because you see, though we may fight sometimes, she's still my bookkeeper and she loathes disrespect. Resisting this is not something I would recommend," he said, causing the two trapped mamodo to struggle and give cries of desperation.

"Guys, I don't know if it's common sense or the feeling I'm getting but... run!" Tia cried, causing the rest of the dragon children to follow her to a safe distance, then putting up a Seoshi barrier.

"**Dragon of the Darkness Flame!**" Brago roared, blasting forth a spiral of dark, flaming energy, manifesting as a dragon. As the dragon approached, both of its targets desperately tried moving out of the way, but to no avail as it engulfed both of them, the dragon roaring as it ascended, then descended back down, crashing to the ground in a dark violet explosion. All but Brago braced themselves behind their hiding places, the force of the attack sending out colossal aftershock waves.

After the flames died out, a few of the slightly disoriented mamodo took a peek at the aftermath of the dark clad mamodo's onslaught, Hyde being the first to speak. "Brago... succeeded," he stated in amazement as said mamodo looked at his partly charred hand and forearm in awe, along with the substantially-sized crater several feet from him.

"But where did...?" Tia asked, but cut herself short with a gasp, eyeing the darker parts of the newly formed hole. "Well, there's his outline, at least," Penny slowly answered, seeing what was most likely a charred print of Eshros.

"Believe me, for now he's not coming back, "Brago said, flexing his hand to regain feeling, causing the rest of the enemy mamodo to look on in shock, quietly conversing of their next course of action. "On the other hand," he started, only to be interrupted by a small rumbling in the ground. In the middle of the crater, flames slowly emerged and caused the ground to break apart, and climbing out of it was none other than...

"I figured that you'd somehow survive that," Brago said, eyeing the angered, scorched mamodo before him, clothes half burned off and part of his hat blackened and breaking apart, pieces floating into the wind. "If that inner dragon of yours didn't somehow shield you, you would've been banished back to the mamodo world... Who knows, maybe even Hell."

"You... cocky, insolent child," Zofis managed to choke out in a slightly raspy voice, coughing up smoke. "Don't think... that you've beaten us yet... we WILL have those dragons, boy, mark my words...!"

Brago chucked in response, further infuriating the mamodo of fire. "Doubtful. Though you may have managed to survive, think about it: I scared the rest of your flunkies into not attacking me, one's been sent to who knows what part of the world, or dimension, and besides you being almost utterly destroyed with one hit, you should be thanking me."

"What did you say?"

"That hideous outfit of yours looks ten times better now. You look..."

"Toasty!" a random, oddly-pitched voice yelled. Everyone looked around to find the source of the voice.

"This is why you need to stop following Kiyo to the arcade so much," Tia said quietly to Zatch, dragging him back behind the trees. "And where'd you get this random purple shirt from?"

"...that aside, "Brago said with a sweatdrop, "you're better off regrouping. I'd hate to defeat anyone with no hope of beating me, let alone all of us.

Zofis growled in frustration, then turned to slowly float away. "This isn't over, Brago!" he yelled, but then remembered something, smirking. "You might want to hurry up, though. There's no telling how your bookowners are faring in the Shiro-Ryu Tower..."

"The Shiro- what...?"

"Good luck finding that, you simpletons, or having the hope of defeating us there," Zofis said smugly, white lightning crackling underneath him. "Until we meet again, dragon children!" he yelled, manically laughing as he and his allies were engulfed in a column of white lightning, disappearing soon after.

Brago sighed in exhaustion, turning around to walk away. "What do we do now?" Tia asked, the other mamodo emerging from their hiding places.

"We head back to your bookowner's mansion, now."

"What? But, why?"

"I figured that was obvious. If Zofis is that confident, then we must have our work cut out for us. For starters, we need to find out what this Shiro-Ryu Tower is."

"Then what?" Penny inquired.

"Then, we make sure we have an unbeatable advantage against Zofis and his flunkies."

Penny blinked. "How?"

Brago smirked. "We consult our dragons..."

**_Elsewhere..._**

In a dimly lit room, we find a teenaged child sitting by himself, seeming as though he was biding his time.

A white-haired teenager walks in, along with a white clad child. "What is it?" the child asks.

"It seems as though this legend of yours was accurate," the white clothed child replied. "The plan is going accordingly, more than likely attempting to get stronger as we speak. As long as you remember our deal, we should be fine."

"Of course," the child replied, smirking evilly as the two left the room. "Soon... I will possess the celestial power of the dragons to rule over the mamodo world and this one as well..."

The other child had different thoughts however. "I will have my chance to defeat you once and for all, and claim what is rightfully mine... brother..."

* * *

**Will Brago's idea of talking to their dragons aid them in their upcoming battle? How are the rest of the bookowners faring in this mysterious tower? And who is this mysterious child? Find out more in the next chapter!**

A/N: Got another chapter done, finally! Review this chapter everyone, and tell me if you can spot out the three (obvious) references I used this chapter (which I don't own). Also, I'm gonna need a little help on adding elements to this story's main antagonist, which will be an OC I'm creating. All help is greatly appreciated!  
By the way, I may put an omake (side, humorous story) at the end of the next chapter, send me any requests for it if you want.


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